His finger rested on her lips, halting her words. “No what ifs. Hear me? We can only take one day at a time. One moment, love. We need to help thresh the wheat right now. Let’s get that done. Then we’ll deal with the next thing that comes along. Together. Promise?”

Her heart filled to bursting with the love she had for him. After all they’d been through, and here they were, still desperately trying to hang on to each other. But what if… no. She pushed aside her doubts for now. “I love you, Tare.”

They've anticipated this time, yet dread it more than any of them care to admit.

A pang of remorse penetrates Alyra’s chest. She should have tried harder, ran faster, done whatever it took to keep her former master, Darnel, from kidnapping the Curian, Katrina. Now poor Kat is all alone, probably locked in a dungeon, in the dark mountain stronghold of Racah.

What plans were being made to rescue Kat? And when would Tarek come back to Alyra as he promised? His last message said he should have already returned…so what kept him away? Jerin, along with his centaur friends, Lotari and Stitch, anticipate the move against Racah, but Prince Issah has delayed. When Jerin is finally able to ask Issah about his battle plans, the prince seems distracted, staring into the nearby fountain with his gaze locked onto the rippling surface. Leaning forward, Jerin looks harder, wondering what Issah is staring at when a vision forms.

A familiar man is standing on a platform with arms tied behind his back. He’s surrounded by an angry crowd. Jerin is curious about the vision until Issah confirms that before they can advance on Racah, they must first rescue Tarek. The Empowered Illuminate is an important component to their success in defeating their enemy.

The final installment of The White Road Chronicles leads Alyra and her friends to the Mountain stronghold of Racah for a final confrontation with the cruel ruler, Darnel. ​

This has been some journey from the time Alyra took that first step onto the white stone path, until now when I can look at the final product of the last book.

My heart beats with both pleasure and melancholy. Sadness over seeing all this come to a final end. Yet, who wouldn't be pleased over such an accomplishment? Nine books! If we include the novella series.

I give God the credit for this. Every time I wasn't sure where the story needed to go next, He'd provide the ideas. Sometimes they came to me in those seconds between dreaming and waking. I'd see Alyra, Tare, Lot and the others so clearly. Other times while driving when I let my mind wander, or even during church as I worshiped or tries to listen to the sermon.

I know some people might have thought I was diligently scribbling down sermon notes instead of story ideas. I'll let them think what they may.

Ha.

And here we are, dear reader friends. We've reached the end of this long trek. I hope you enjoy the final book. Please let me know in your reviews or letters what you thank.Already, I've been hearing your feedback and am blessed by your words.

Ablaze will be available exclusively on Amazon for the Kindle Unlimited readers until September 17th. After that, I'll put it up on extended distribution so my kobo, nook, and ibook readers can have a go at it, too.

Thank you so much for following me on Aly's journey. I hope you'll stick around for new stories to come. Even if they aren't all fantasy, they'll come from the same heart as The White Road Chronicles came from.

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Author Info

Jackie Castle is an author, artist and dreamer. She lives in Texas with her husband, two grown children and her dog, Banjo. She looks for the extraordinary in the ordinary in everything she experiences.